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How a borepump ran for 50 years – twice the lifespan of an average pump

In the rolling green hills of Echunga, a small town in South Australia’s Adelaide Hills, time seems to move a little slower. For nearly 50 years, a single pump hummed quietly beneath the earth, pulling bore water to the surface to sustain a hobby farm. Installed in 1977, this Grundfos SP10 wasn’t just equipment: it powered the place through decades of hard work, running strong even as the farm split from one property into three.

Echunga has no mains water, a fact that makes reliable groundwater a lifeline for anyone living off the land here. Back when the SP10 was first dropped into the bore, the farm sprawled across a single plot, its pastures dotted with grazing cattle and fields thirsty for irrigation.

Over the decades, the land was carved into three smaller properties, but the pump kept going, faithfully serving each new owner without complaint. Most pumps call it quits after 20 or 25 years - half a lifetime compared to this one. The SP10? It ran for 47, a testament to engineering that defies the odds.

The original nameplate on the 1977 Grundfos SP10

Craig Ritchie knows a thing or two about pumps. He’s been servicing them at Mt Barker Pumps since 1981, just a few years after this SP10 started its marathon. “Around here, if it’s not broke, you don’t mess with it,” he says with a grin. “That pump was a beast -tough as nails and efficient as anything I’ve seen. It barely needed a nudge to keep going.” When it did need a tweak, Craig serviced it to keep it going rather than pulling it out. “Why replace something that works? Saves the customer a few bucks and keeps a good thing running.”

And run it did, with its original motor still spinning after nearly five decades. It wasn’t until 47 years later, that the farm swapped it out for a new Grundfos SP11, a choice driven less by the old pump giving up and more by the promise of better energy efficiency - a critical edge for farmers keeping an eye on rising power costs.

Craig Ritchie from Mt Barker Pumps

"A pump that runs for 50 years? That’s not just luck - that’s Grundfos."

As Craig hauled the old SP10 out of the ground, he couldn’t help but tip his hat to it. “You don’t see that every day,” he says.

The SP10’s story isn’t just about a pump that wouldn’t die. It’s about what it meant to the people who depended on it. For almost half a century, it delivered water without fanfare, keeping the grass green, the herd fed, and the farm alive through dry spells and wet winters alike.

In a world where equipment often feels disposable, this pump was a throwback - a reminder that quality can endure.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE GRUNDFOS SP - THE SERIOUS PUMP